Nitish Kumar powerless, can’t tear down Bihar’s abduction industry

Nitish Kumar recently claimed that the law and order situation in Bihar has improved radically. He insisted that incidents of kidnapping, robbery, murder and extortion have decreased considerably and the State is much less volatile today than before. On the contrary, the kidnapping of a couple in the Gaya district of Bihar may just trigger the beginning of ‘jungle raj’, version 2.0.

Lalu Yadav is credited with introducing chaos and anarchy in Bihar after he stormed into the political scene in the early 90s. Through utter disregard for law and a sense of righteousness, Lalu and his family looted Bihar for around 15 years, leaving the state in an anarchic condition. Nitish Kumar carried on his legacy and with the recent coming together of two of the most infamous politicians, the damage this time to Bihar will be far worse…

The recent day-light abduction of a well-known doctor of Gaya, Pankaj Kumar Gupta, and his entrepreneur wife, Subhra Gupta, clearly quashes all claims by Nitish Kumar of a better and safer Bihar. The duo was abducted on Friday on their return to Gaya from a marriage ceremony of a relative in Jharkhand. They were in a deluxe, luxurious car.

Although they have now been rescued and are back home safe and sound after the kidnappers freed them in Lucknow, it raises tough questions for Nitish Kumar, whose conduct and integrity is already lost and buried. There are mafias running abductions and extortions and according to reliable sources, the chief minister is looking the other way and only intervenes when media pressure builds up. His alliance with Lalu Prasad Yadav to combat the threat of Narendra Modi smells of political opportunism.

Chote bhaiya Nitish Kumar kissed and made up with bade bhaiya Lalu Prasad Yadav after over two decades, to counter Narendra Modi’s swelling popularity. They are running towards each other for support because they are sacred and know on their own, they cannot handle the Prime Minister. Janata Dal (United)’s Nitish Kumar has certainly fallen from the moral high ground he claimed to occupy.

The enemy number one is a brother-in-arms today. Up until the Modi wave hit the nation, Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav were always at each other’s throat, abusing and alleging each other in public. There was no room for compromise and each appeared sworn to destroy the other. But in politics, there are no permanent friends and permanent enemies, there are only permanent interests.

When Nitish Kumar severed alliance with the BJP last year, Lalu reacted with vemon, branding him a political opportunist. He also dubbed Nitish as the greediest person he has ever seen. Instead of understanding and accepting people’s decisive mandate for development and Narendra Modi, Nitish and Lalu have stitched up a fragile alliance and are hoping that the caste equations somehow stack up in their favour. Such is the politics that Nitish and Lalu are playing and amazingly, they think the people don’t see through their vested interests.

The forthcoming elections in Bihar will be a difficult test for Nitish Kumar, who has done everything possible to ensure he is NOT re-elected. BJP appears to be a strong party, capable of changing the perception of Bihar. Considered as dictatorial, Nitish already has enemies even within his party.